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| Quote on a wall inside the UN in New York |
For decades, the United Nations has been the place where feminists from around the world have come together to advance global norms and galvanize political commitment on gender equality and the human rights of women and girls in all their diversity, including sexual and reproductive rights.
This has never been easy. Women’s human rights have always been deeply contested.
But we have been able to work hand in hand with governments on agreements like the ICPD Programme of Action, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and the Sustainable Development Goals, catalyzing meaningful changes in the lives of women and girls globally. And we have built important UN institutions, like UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, to support countries to deliver on those commitments. This work is far from done.
UN80 Initiative
Amid unprecedented attacks on multilateralism, geopolitical upheaval, and a related funding crisis, the United Nations is at an inflection point. To respond, the UN Secretary-General has established the UN80 initiative to identify areas where the UN can reform to more efficiently deliver on its mandates. The proposed measures range from cost-savings measures, such as reducing the UN’s footprint in New York and Geneva, to structural reform of UN entities.
One proposal on the table is a merger between UN Women and UNFPA. An assessment of the proposed merger is expected to be released shortly, for consideration by the Secretary-General, the Executive Boards of the two UN agencies, and ultimately, the UN General Assembly. The chief proponents of a potential merger argue it will increase the ability of the UN to more comprehensively and holistically advance the rights of women and girls. Yet, at a time when we are beginning to see the systematic abandonment of support for gender equality and women’s rights, a potential merger comes with serious risks.
The High Stakes of Merging
For women and girls the stakes are incredibly high. Over the past couple of years, we have seen a growing number of countries close gender ministries, cut budgets for programs to address gender inequalities. We have seen significant reductions in donor funding for feminist movements and now face significant risk of regression on laws and policies in at least a quarter of countries globally.
The UN is also falling short. Many UN entities persistently fail to meet UN-wide targets and financial benchmarks for gender equality. Fewer than half of UN Country Teams are meeting minimum expectations for gender results within UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks. Further weakening the UN's capacity to advance gender equality and protect the rights of women and girls in this context could accelerate these trends and set us back further.
Governments Face a Difficult Decision
The merger is far from a done deal. At recent meetings of the UN Women and UNDP/ UNOPS/ UNFPA Executive Boards, governments raised concerns that a merger may result in a loss of resources, weakening of mandates, and negative impacts on country-level operations. They articulated a set of core principles to guide decision-making, including the need to:
- Safeguard the mandates of UN Women and UNFPA to prevent regression on gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
- Place improved impact for people at the center of any structural reform, with particular attention to tailored country-level support and tangible results.
- Protect funding for gender equality and SRHR mandates, given existing resource gaps.
- Rely on evidence-based, independent analysis of all options, not just merger scenarios, with ample time and transparency for informed decision-making.
- Ensure transparency and inclusiveness, including robust participation from civil society and particularly women’s rights organizations.
Governments were clear that they wanted all information necessary to ensure informed decision-making, including legal opinions on implications for governance and mandate preservation, comprehensive risk assessments, cost-benefit analyses, and summaries of stakeholder consultations.
Feminist Responses and the CSW
Feminist and women’s rights organizations have also laid out demands for action that would, irrespective of a merger, safeguard progress on both gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights. These calls include:
- protecting financing;
- increasing accountability;
- increasing systemwide coherence across UN entities;
- strengthening political and technical leadership; and
- guaranteeing a role for feminist and gender equality organizations and young people in governance structures.
The next few weeks will be critical as the assessment is published, options are debated, and decisions are made about how to move forward. The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) will be an important moment for feminist and gender equality organizations to make their perspectives heard and ensure that any reform ultimately enhances the UN’s ability to deliver for women and girls worldwide.
By Shannon Kowalski
Shannon Kowalski is a senior consultant on gender equality, health, human rights and development with many years of experience working with multilateral organisations and processes. Follow Shannon on LinkedIn for more analysis and updates
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